News :  A Certain Aroma: Part III – Sources of the Bull (By Kenny Bruno, 4/9/25)

A Certain Aroma: Part III – Sources of the Bull

(Read Part I: Cutting Through the Bull About Solar Energy)

In Parts 1 and 2, we took on a few of the more prominent myths that opponents of wind and solar energy trot out. [1] In Part III, we look at where these myths are coming from. 

You would think that after a century of fossil fuel dominance, people would be ready for an energy revolution that would get us out from under the boot of a few greedy corporations. And, for the most part, you’d be right – clean energy is popular and with good reason. But it has taken some folks by surprise that, as USA Today puts it, “clean energy plants are being banned faster than they’re being built.” [2] This was not how it was supposed to go. Clean energy brings jobs, protects the climate, protects groundwater and public health, helps revitalize rural economies that are often hurting, and polls well. It polls so well in fact that many politicians who can’t bring themselves to oppose fossil fuel projects even when the companies building them bully landowners, find it easy to love clean energy. 

The transition to clean energy was supposed to, by itself, to lead to the decline of the fossil fuel era. After all, if you get more energy from renewables you’ll presumably need less from dirty fuels. (Unless you use more energy or export it –  a topic for another day.)  But a funny thing happened on the way to a clean energy future: Fossil fuels fought back. Their motivation is not to protect rural America’s way of life or public health but rather to maintain their market share and profit as far into the future as possible. The “demand-side” hawks who theorized that we don’t have to constrain oil and gas supply because building a lot of renewable energy will by itself make coal and gas disappear forgot one little part of the calculation: the power of the fossil fuel industry.

Sadly, we have to admit that their bizarre campaign is working. In fact, as documented by the Energy and Policy Institute (EPI), “a national network that’s funded by fossil fuel interests is fighting to block renewal energy projects.” [3]

At the center of this national network is the Koch network of conservative donors, which supports, among many groups, the State Policy Network (SPN). SPN, in turn, “sits atop a 50-state network of think tanks and associated advocacy groups.” SPN, supported by gas industry executives like Karen Buchwald Wright, Tom Rastin, and Joseph Craft in turn works with anti-renewable activists. Cloud Peak Energy, Murray Energy, and Peabody Energy fund groups that spread disinformation about renewables. ExxonMobil, Kinder Morgan, and Occidental Petroleum have worked against wind power in Texas. This anti-renewables campaign has been going on for over a decade. Don’t be fooled: This is not merely a few brave local activists willing to speak truth to power. It is a coordinated effort by powerful companies to protect their riches.

Here are some names. When you find them, remember they are part of a self-interested anti-clean energy agenda:

John Droz, Lisa Linowes, Kevon Martis, Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition, our Home Our Voice, Energy and Environmental Legal Institute, Alliance Resource Partners, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, Ariel Corporation, the Empowerment Alliance, Donors Trust, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Affordable Energy, American Legislative Exchange Council, Caesar Rodney Institute, Heartland Institute, Institute for Energy Research, Protect our Pocketbooks, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Tom Stacy, Tom Tanton. 

Every activity has its impact, and clean energy is no exception. It isn’t perfect. Wind and solar are not appropriate for every time and place. Some projects are not right for a town or a family farm. Some of us find solar arrays ugly, some find them attractive, it’s a matter of taste. But clean energy pros and cons need to be discussed honestly in our towns and counties. The debate should not be driven by front groups for rich companies that fight not for you and me but only for themselves.

REFERENCES

[1] “Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles,” Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, April 2024.

[2] “Across America, clean energy plants are being banned faster than they’re being built,” Elizabeth Weise
Suhail Bhat, USA Today, Feb. 4, 2024.

[3] This quote and much of the info in this blog come from: “Fueling the Opposition – How Fossil Fuel Interests are Fighting to Kill Wind and Wolar Farms Before they Are Built,” David Anderson, Energy and Policy Institute 2024.